the human body!

i got to spend four days at home for Christmas, and it was splendid. it was a bit crazy and stressful at first, but by the end i had thoroughly enjoyed myself. i got to see my mom, my dad, my brother jake, brian, nicole, shanna, david and geneva, matt, nicole and matea, kari, denice and her fam, my grama and wil. that was a lot of people to cram into four days, but it was worth it. here are some of the highlights...

quality time with my mommy! we ate her goodies, watched a lifetime movie, chatted it up, snuggled, and played with her kitten, zoey. she even got me my label maker!

daddy daughter bonding! my dad is so cute when he sees me after a long absence...he makes me food, chills my milk glass in the freezer, and takes me shopping at good ol' fred meyer for a christmas gift. while we were there, i kept seeing all these people that i used to work with 6-7 years ago (dang, that's hard to believe) and so i says to my dad, i says, "seeing all these people that i used to work with still working here makes me want to throw up." a little while later he looks at me and says, "liz...seeing all these people shopping here who have been shopping here forever makes me want to puke!" whenever i spend a significant chunk of time with my dad, it's impossible to ignore the me is see in him. it makes me smile.

expectations, expectations, expectations! i came up with a slogan for my trip home..."every one wants a piece of the liz pie!" i had lunch with my friend wil and he tells me beforehand "i rearranged my entire christmas schedule for this one lunch...so it better be good. bring your a-game." he was kidding, of course, but the quote represents how i felt at times...like i'd better be in a good mood because i only got to see some people once. but then i met up with my friend kari. we greeted each other, rejoiced, and then she said, "i'm really sorry, but i'm in a really bad mood." "I'M in a really bad mood!" i replied excitedly. and then we proceeded to have one of our usual brutally honest heart to hearts. and that's why i love kari.

and, of course, there was my precious geneva and matea. matea gave me a personal tour of their new house, making sure to show me the most important thing, her new sequined ballet outfit. she then put on her rainbow tights and matching ballet slippers with the outfit and showed me her dancing skills. cutest thing ever! geneva was so excited to see me that she was dancing and shaking her arms all around. shanna asked her to tell me what her favorite thing was and she looked right at me, eyes wide, face elated, and said, "the human body!" i was so surprised i couldn't help but laugh. "what's your favorite thing about the human body?" shanna then asked her. "bones!" she said. some people i have shared this with think it is creepy, but i think it's freaking adorable. my geneva, she's so smart.

so geneva and matea are both about three years old, and both of their moms are having baby boys next month! i am so excited that i screamed and jumped up and down in nicole's kitchen. i got to feel the baby moving around in her tummy, and it was so cool! i told everyone that i am planning a longer visit for the middle of next year, solely to hold the babies. anyone else who wants to see me can, but they will have to visit with me while i am holding the babies.

other nuggets (that one's for you, wil) worth mentioning are my ever-witty banter with brian (we're both still on our a-game), the fact that i can be quite bitchy when i'm in a bad mood, and, it turns out i can do suduko! i'm not an idiot after all!